The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1887-12-10
Greek Versus Greek.

perity of the community.
Greek Versus Greek.
The radical, ADVANTAGEOUS bloody
shirt style of politics seems to have
died out, except in Ohio.
The three irrepressible apostles of
this creed, John Sherman, Foraker,
and Halstead, live and flourish in
the same State-one as it's Senator,
another as its Governor, and the
third as its chief editor.
These constitute a solid trio whose
chief stock in trade is to inveigh
against the "Solid South" and to
charge upon that section all that is
mean and tricky and reasonable in
politics forgetting that they-the
trio themselves-were the chief en-
issaries in stealing the votes of these
same Southern States to complete
the theft of the Presidency
But it is one of the hopeful signs
of the times that these rampant par
tisans and sectionalists are being an
swered and denounced from within
their own party lines. Halstead has
recently been presenting an array
of figures and assumptions to show
free ballot does not exist in the
South; and is answered by leading
republican paper, the New York
Times, in the following vigorous
manner:
Mr.. Halstead's figures really prove
nothing at all, except that the Con
gressional election in eight Southern
States in 1886 excited little interest
and no political contest. Why this
was so is matter of inference, and
the Cincinnati editor may pretend
to infer that it was because the
negro vote had previously been sup
pressed to such an extent that no
attempt was made to cast it out of
sheer hopelessness. 1t may have
been sheer Indifference and a loss of
that dread of democratic ascend
ancy which was long fostered. The
fact that there had been democrat
ic Administration at Washington for
more than year and a half when
these Congressional elections of 1886
were held seems to have had mar
velously soothing and quieting effect.
1t did not excite the democrats to
new efforts at suppression, but it
seems to have made them unneces-
sary. Passing over Mr.. Halstead' 8
assumptions that colored vote is
necessarily a republican vote and
must always be SO, and that vote
which is not cast is necessarily forci-
bly, or fraudulently suppressed, we
do not see the slightest evidence in
his figures that the "war amend
ments'' of the Constitution have been
nullified, while it is perfectly we'll
known that they have not been.
These amendments abolish slavery,
provide that when any State denies
or abridges the right Of suffrage it's
representation in Congress shall be
proportionately reduced, and pro-
hibited the denial or abridgement of
the right to vote by any State on &C.
count of race, color, or previous con-
dition of servitude. Nobody pre-
tends that slavery has been re-estab-
lished. The action of any State in
denying or abridging the right of
suffrage must be embodied either
in its constitution or its laws, and
no constitution or laws having that
effect have been adopted in these
States. What, then, would Mr.. Hal
stead do? He does not say, but
merely hints, that "the fourteenth
amendment is perfectly clear in de-
filming the peaceable resources OF
the people who are wronged." There
is nothing that he can mean except
that the representation of the South
ern States should be reduced in pro-
portion to the reduction of the re-
publican vote in their Congressional
districts, which is so ridiculous that
we do not wonder that he had not
the face to state it. He makes a
laughable suggestion that if the ter
rible state of things depicted in his
tables of figures is to be permitted
"the Supreme Court could do no less
than to expunge at least the reproach
of notification by declaring invalid
the war amendments of the Consti-
tuition that have been already disre-
garded." Theidea of the Supreme
Court declaring the Constitution
itself invalid is quite delightful, but
there is one thing ''less' than that
which it would be pretty sure to do.
1t would make short work of any at
tempt to reduce representation on
such evidence as Mr.. Halstead and
his political associates present of the
denial or abridgement of the right
of suffrage in the Southern States.
This effort to work up new section
al issue for use next year, which was
started by Mr.. Blaine just after the
election of 1884, is so utterly hope
less and futile that it may as well be
abandoned before the campaign OF
next year opens. Its effect would
surely be to reduce the republican
vote in every State with the possible
exception of Ohio.
Georgetown lettings.
GEORGETOWN. Nov. 5.-Rev. Burns